Granulocytopenia
Overview
Granulocytopenia: Reduced number of granulocytes in the blood. Granulocytes are a type of white blood cell (neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils). White blood cells help protect the body from invading pathogen and hence act as the body's defense to infection.
Symptoms
* Frequent infections * Reduced granulocyte level * Weakened immune system
Causes
The follow list shows some of the possible medical causes of Granulocytopenia that are listed by the Diseases Database: * Imatinib mesylate * Docetaxel * Oklahoma tick fever * Pentamidine * Deferiprone * Hydroxycarbamide * Sulphasalazine * Isoniazid * Ethotoin * Valganciclovir * Procainamide * Caspofungin * Clozapine * Chediak-Higashi disease * Mirtazapine * Sulphonamides * Barth syndrome * Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome type 1 * Griscelli syndrome type 1 * Bevacizumab * Propionyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency * Mianserin * Alemtuzumab * Anakinra * Topotecan * Isovaleric acidaemia * Idarubicin * Aclarubicin * Nortriptyline * Quinidine * Amodiaquine * Dipyrone * Azathioprine * Histiocytosis X * Bortezomib * Paclitaxel * Hereditary orotic aciduria * Cyclical neutropenia * Fludarabine * Strontium-89 * WHIM syndrome * Acetophenazine * Mercaptopurine * Chloramphenicol * Methylmalonic aciduria type 2 * Neuroectodermal melanolysosomal disease * Methimazole * Stiripentol * Zileuton * Pyrimethamine * Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis * Glutathione synthase deficiency * Antipyrine * Aplastic anemia * Rheumatoid disease * Lassa fever * Actinomycin D * Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis * Ethosuximide * Phenytoin * Gemcitabine * Riluzole * Pentostatin * Ganciclovir * Myelokathexis * Albendazole * Trimetrexate * Pipothiazine * Clofarabine * Levomepromazine * Trastuzumab * Myelodysplastic syndrome * Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria * Penicillamine * Autoimmune neutropenia * Ibritumomab tiuxetan * Shwachman-Diamond syndrome * Glycogenosis type 1b * Cohen syndrome * Amitriptyline * Eflornithine * Dengue * Doxorubicin * Zidovudine * Interferon beta * Chlorpromazine * Irinotecan * Dyskeratosis congenita * Metaphyseal chondrodysplasia, McKusick type * Captopril * Copper deficiency * Aminopyrine * Carbimazole * Hypersplenism * Remoxipride * 5-Azacytidine * Visceral leishmaniasis * Interferon alpha * Familial histiocytic reticulosis * Dubowitz syndrome * Reticular dysgenesis * Severe acute respiratory syndrome * Dothiepin * Gold salts * Perazine * Cilazapril * Cidofovir * X-linked hyperimmunoglobulin M syndrome * Phenylbutazone * Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome type 2 * Mitoxantrone * Desipramine * Propylthiouracil * Hairy cell leukaemia * Flucytosine * Gemtuzumab ozogamicin * Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia * Ticlopidine * Kostmann disease
Treatment
Effective management of granulocytopenia must identify and eliminate the cause and control infection until the bone marrow can generate more leukocytes. In many cases, this means drug or radiation therapy must be stopped and antibiotic treatment begun immediately, even while awaiting test results. Treatment may also include antifungal preparations. Administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (CSF) or granulocyte-macrophage CSF is a newer treatment used to stimulate bone marrow production of neutrophils. Spontaneous restoration of leukocyte production in bone marrow generally occurs within 1 to 3 weeks. Treatment of lymphocytopenia includes eliminating the cause and managing any underlying disorders. For infants with SCID, therapy may include bone marrow transplantation.